Congress Demands SIR To Be Conducted Again In Bihar; ‘ECI Ignored 89 Lakh Complaints’

Patna: The Congress on Sunday demanded that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar be conducted afresh, claiming that 89 lakh complaints were ignored by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

“Congress demands that SIR be conducted again, as large-scale irregularities cast a doubt on ECI’s intention,” senior party leader Pawan Khera said at a press briefing in Patna.

Stepping up the party’s attack on ECI, Khera said that a staggering 89 lakh complaints of irregularities, flagged by the party’s booth level agents (BLAs) in Bihar during the voter list revision process, were ignored.

“The ECI keeps getting news planted through its sources that no complaints are coming from any political party. The truth is that the Congress submitted 89 lakh complaints pertaining to irregularities in the SIR to the ECI,” Khera said.

He alleged that the poll body told Congress workers only individuals could file complaints, and not political parties.

The Election Commission said on Saturday it has received 1.98 lakh pleas from individuals to exclude names from the voters list, while 30,000 applications were received for inclusion of names.

The draft electoral rolls, published on August 1, will remain open for “claims and objections” by individuals and political parties till September 1.

The process of electoral rolls revision in poll-bound Bihar has been fiercely opposed, with several parties in the INDIA bloc approaching the Supreme Court. The Opposition parties have warned that the SIR exercise could disenfranchise millions, particularly from marginalised communities, due to missing names and a lack of proper notice.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched the two-week ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar to protest ECI’s SIR exercise.

Rahul’s yatra, supported by all INDIA bloc allies, will end in Patna on September 1.